Chapter 14

In a place fraught with danger, how could there possibly be such an obvious loophole?

The two of them realized it at the same time. The ground that had seemed calm only moments ago suddenly felt dangerous from every direction, as if peril could spring up anywhere.

Yin Xianyu tried to head upward, only to find that the path above had already been sealed by a huge mass of solid wood. It seemed she could only keep going forward if she wanted a way out.

If they stayed where they were, they would only wait until their spiritual energy was exhausted and die.

Yin Xianyu carefully used the bell in her hand to probe the way ahead. The clear ringing lasted a long time, and she stayed on full alert the entire time, completely forgetting that she was still holding Xie Qingrang’s hand.

She gathered every bit of concentration she had and slowly cut through the soil in front of her. She kept going for a long time, but felt nothing unusual; ahead of her was nothing but endless black earth.

If not for Xie Qingrang, still dressed in white and untouched by mortal dust, guiding her beside her, she would almost have suspected she had been circling in place all this time.

Under this stretch of black soil, there was actually nothing at all. Now and then, there were strange round clumps of earth gathered together; after glancing at them and confirming there was nothing there, Yin Xianyu simply moved on.

Yet the unease in her heart only grew stronger. Then the person beside her suddenly spoke, nearly making her fling Xie Qingrang away: “Junior Sister, how much of what happened before do you remember?”

Yin Xianyu looked at Xie Qingrang. She was gazing down at her, her eyes lowered. Yin Xianyu let the bell ring slower and thought, Is this really the time to bring that up?

But she still answered honestly. “Senior Sister, I’m honestly a little muddled. How am I supposed to remember that just the day before, I was still eating and sleeping with you in the cave dwelling, but when I woke up, Master was gone and the other Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters were nowhere to be found? What happened in between?”

Just thinking about it made her head ache fiercely. But she wasn’t uncurious; on the contrary, she very much wanted to know what on earth had happened.

Yin Xianyu looked at Xie Qingrang with expectation. “And Senior Sister, I also heard those people outside saying there was some conflict between us. Did something happen?”

Xie Qingrang looked at her, not knowing how to explain everything that had come before. If she said it, would they go back to being at odds? Would Yin Xianyu never again be her Junior Sister?

She was nothing like the person she was now.

Feeling the warmth in her palm, Xie Qingrang actually had a shameful thought: what if she simply kept her by her side like this forever?

Would she hate her?

Or would she continue like this, without the slightest wariness, placing herself entirely in her hands?

Seeing her silence, Yin Xianyu lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers. Then she suddenly noticed a distinct scar on the knuckle of her index finger.

She lifted Xie Qingrang’s hand to look at it closely. “Senior Sister, how did this happen?”

Xie Qingrang reflexively pulled her hand back, and her expression became a little unnatural as well. She tucked her hand behind her back; her fingertips were faintly trembling, and the lingering pain from being burned by the Heartless Grass was still there.

“This is my private matter.”

Yin Xianyu flexed her empty palm and showed no dissatisfaction at all. “All right, Senior Sister.”

Those clear, bright eyes of hers once again reflected Xie Qingrang’s image. In the past, the look in those eyes when they turned toward her had truly been enough to make one’s heart tremble.

Yin Xianyu had thought she would say nothing else, and just as she was racking her brain over what was true and what was false, Xie Qingrang suddenly called her name in a serious tone: “Xianyu.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t trust anyone except Senior Sister. Those words are all…”

“Okay, I’ll only trust Senior Sister.”

Xie Qingrang’s unfinished words were once again cut off by Yin Xianyu. Yin Xianyu focused on ringing the bell and took her hand again.

“I also think those people are talking nonsense. What do they mean, that you and I are sworn enemies? What kind of heavens would that be? My bond with Senior Sister is stronger than gold!”

“…”

“And then there’s that thing about you cultivating the Heartless Dao. That’s complete nonsense. How could someone on the Heartless Dao make a pact with me? Besides, Master has gone missing, and we have to search for her together. If Senior Sister has cut off emotions and desires by cultivating the Heartless Dao, how could you possibly search for Master with me?”

“…”

“Besides, the Heartless Dao is famous for being cold and detached. How could Senior Sister possibly be like that, right?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Yin Xianyu looked at her, then affectionately lifted her hand and gently traced the wound with her fingertips. “Does it still hurt?”

A prickly, numbing itch spread from the wound. Then the faint scar slowly flushed red from within and began to ache faintly, as if it could still feel the heart-rending pain from ten years ago.

But Xie Qingrang still shook her head. Enduring it, she pulled her hand away and instead wrapped Yin Xianyu’s hand in her own.

The several elders outside the formation fell silent together. Even Lingxu had nothing to say; her body swayed slightly, and Gong Puyu subtly steadied her.

Jixinghai seemed to have seized on some crucial leverage and laughed wildly. “Lingxu brat, you said there was no private affair, yet Xie Qingrang has always been known for her cold nature. And now look; holding hands, making promises. Xie Qingrang doesn’t even dare admit what path she cultivates.

“She has feelings for this person; will you admit it or not? You’ve raised such a fine seedling all wrong; why not hand her over to my sect—”

Before he could finish, several people nearby hurriedly dragged him out.

One elder forced out a dry laugh and stepped forward to smooth things over. “It’s nothing, nothing. It’s only natural for fellow disciples to have a deep friendship; there’s no need to mind it.”

“Perhaps Xie Qingrang’s nature wasn’t originally this cold. It’s only after entering the Heartless Dao that her cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. It’s only natural that there are still lingering feelings; once she returns and is properly guided, she’ll understand. By the looks of it, her future achievements may surpass ours.”

A famous sword prodigy was naturally someone to flatter and indulge.

Lingxu’s brows were tightly furrowed, her gaze fixed firmly on the two tightly joined hands.

The person in the mirror seemed to notice something. She merely shifted slightly to the side and lightly pointed a pale, slender finger into the air; the scene before them then dispersed like drifting clouds and mist, leaving not the slightest trace.

The people inside the room erupted in an uproar. Lingxu’s expression was extremely grim; she cupped her hands toward Gong Puyu. “Elder Gong, please help me keep an eye on things for a while. I need to return to the sect.”

Gong Puyu nodded repeatedly, and saw Lingxu’s external incarnation turn into a streak of flowing light and shoot away at once.

Xie Qingrang had dealt with the little tail following their line of sight, and her mood was much improved. She had time to lower her head and look at Yin Xianyu, who was still diligently probing the way ahead.

There was a faint blue shadow under her eyes, which only added a touch of beauty to that pale, slender face.

She still had the steady temperament she had before, yet she was lively now too; the two qualities blended strangely together without seeming out of place.

Yin Xianyu occasionally turned her head and caught Xie Qingrang’s gaze on her. She only felt that Senior Sister seemed a little different from before, always looking at her for some reason.

She was focused on traveling and didn’t pay much mind to it. The clumps of earth around them were growing more and more numerous; the bell in her hand shook, but made no sound. Ahead of them stood a hard wall.

She ran into it once. She had meant to go around it, only to discover that this entire stretch was made of earthen walls. Before Xie Qingrang could even speak, Yin Xianyu drew her sword and hacked straight into the wall.

With a crack, a gap split open, and the middle was completely hollow. Yin Xianyu was just about to pull Xie Qingrang inside when a blood-red maw lined with sharp teeth suddenly grew out from within; it was actually trying to swallow both of them whole.